Much effort has been expended to develop an action to a trolled lure for salmon that will increase the catch volume. It has been observed that, on a vessel where salmon are fished for by trolling lures behind the boat, the frequency of hook-ups on the lures increases when the boat makes sharp turns in the water. Usually several lures are trolled behind a boat from outriggers, some from each side of the vessel. The speed of the lures on the outside of the turn is accelerated, while those lures on the inside of the turn are decelerated to the point of stopping almost entirely in the water. Because of the loss of forward motion, the inside lures flutter or drop through the water simulating wounded bait fish. Thus, it is believed that the speed the lure is trolled through the water is critical in enticing a salmon to bite. However, because of weather conditions and the proximity of adjacent fishing boats it is difficult to maneuver a boat to make such turns.
It is not known exactly why salmon will strike lures as they go through their various actions. It is known that salmon appear to strike and attack bait or lures that simulate a wounded herring or similar bait fish. Consequently, sport fisherman have had success by alternately accelerating a lure and allowing it to fall back from a boat. Typically, a commercial salmon fisherman will troll several lures from a downrigger. As a result, it is not feasible for a troller to attempt to accelerate a bait and let a bait drop back by pulling in and releasing lines.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,287 related to a device that would cause a lure's speed alternately to increase and to decrease as the lure was trolled through the water. The subject invention seeks to provide certain improvements thereto.
Other devices have been devised heretofore to impart the action to a bait or lure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 798,344, to Holz, et al., motion is imparted to a lure by a spring motor-driven propeller.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,478 to Paulsen, an ice-fishing device is shown in which an arm is elevated and lowered by a motor to lift and drop a bait.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,790, to Derea, shows a somewhat similar bait-jigging device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,030 to Melburn shows a bobber with a motor-driven device to jig a bait suspended below the bobber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,356, to Swift, shows a trolling device having a reciprocating arm mounted on a wheel that is rotated by the motion of the boat through the water. The reciprocation of the arm causes a bait attached to the arm to be moved forwardly and dropped back relative to the motion of the trolling device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,147, to Christensen, also shows an arrangement for jigging squid bait in which the line is retrieved into a rotating drum.